CHIPMAKERS
TSMC misses revenue target
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Monday posted NT$233.91 billion (US$7.63 billion) in revenue for last quarter, missing its revenue target of between NT$236 billion and NT$239 billion. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker attributed the weaker-than-expected performance to a strong New Taiwan dollar. The appreciation of the NT dollar against the greenback caused quarterly revenue to fall by about NT$6 billion, the firm said in a statement. Revenue rose 14.9 percent from NT$203.5 billion in the first quarter of last year.
CHIPMAKERS
Several arrested for theft
US memorychip maker Micron Technology Inc yesterday said prosecutors in Taiwan have been conducting criminal investigations that have resulted in the arrests of several people for alleged theft and misuse of the company’s intellectual property. Micron supports the investigations and has been cooperating fully with authorities, it said. The company said it aggressively protects its intellectual property, and that in the event that an individual or company tries to steal rather than license its technology, it would use all legal and appropriate tools available to prevent, detect and punish such efforts.
SMARTPHONES
Genius reports monthly loss
Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光), which supplies camera lenses for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday said it lost NT$53.26 million in February. That represented losses per share of NT$0.53, a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday showed. Genius was requested to release its earnings, as its shares have surged by about 73 percent since early last month. The company posted NT$314.43 million in net profit for the final quarter of last year, more than triple the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share jumped to NT$3.16. Genius shares yesterday fell 2.66 percent to NT$310.5 in Taipei trading.
DISPLAY MAKERS
Innolux revenue skyrockets
Innolux Corp (群創), the nation’s biggest LCD panel maker, on Monday said revenue last month soared 67.6 percent to NT$31.4 billion, compared with NT$18.71 billion in the same period last year. Monthly revenue rose 14.4 percent from NT$27.41 billion in February. Shipments of PC and TV panels grew 20.5 percent to 102.3 million units from a month earlier. Innloux also reported that its shipments of small and medium-sized panels jumped 37.4 percent monthly to 25.47 million units. Revenue soared 52.5 percent from NT$56.42 billion to NT$86 billion year-on-year, but declined 3.8 percent quarterly, the company said. AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) reported that revenue last month rose 18.2 percent to NT$31.05 billion, compared with NT$26.27 billion in March last year. AUO generated NT$88.56 billion in revenue, up 24.5 percent annually.
ENTERTAINMENT
SNSPlus inks licensing deal
Local game developer and distributor SNSPlus Inc (好玩家) yesterday said it inked a US$1.7 million agreement with Kadokawa Games Ltd to obtain the Japanese company’s game distribution rights in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China. The collaboration will deepen the relationship between the two companies and help expand SNSPlus’ business in Asian markets, SNSPlus said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. SNSPlus said it foresees the Kadokawa distribution rights to benefit its revenue and profitability this year.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San